I was wondering if someone could help me with a starting problem. I have a 69 Corvette with a dragging starter. I checked the battery and is was weak and couldn't be charged up so I replaced it thinking that was my trouble. The car started ok, at times and then was dragging again. I replaced the started with a new gear reduction starter and again thought everything was fine. Trouble returned and now it won't even crank at times. Someone told me it could be a netural safety switch problem. Were is that located and how can I check and replace it. Is it hard to get too and what does it look like. I'm new at maintaining this car but love doing it, when I know what to do.

I would be looking at the starter. Possibly, the bearings are shot, the arnmature is moving around, causing different symptoms. Another possibility, is that the ground straps are not solidly connected.

Check all your grounds. You should have one from the block to the frame, and also check the negative battery cable to see if it is making a good connection both at the battery and at the grounding point.

First Is your battery box located on that year under the hood, or behind the drivers seat?

Second, Check Both your cables, BE sure they are Clean, tight and do not have corrosion under the insulation..

Third, you need to check the ground system..remember the engine sits in a plastic car, on rubber mounts...

Your ground should be set up as such, The battery cable should ground to any handy bolt at or near the starter, from there, get a battery cable that has 2 3/8 ring terminals on it ($6 bucks at wally mart or auto parts place) and ground that to the frame..From the engine block ground at the starter, run 1 #10 wire to the alternator ground lug or mount bolt...

USE proper Star washers, Sheet-metal screws / bolts and locks, and burnish ALL the paint and grease from the grounding areas..this will give you a rugged reliable grounding system that will most likely outlast the car...

If the Alternator is powered white Along with the mount, remove both and the hardware, and sand or water blast them back to clean bare metal...then when you reinstall add aluminum wire bonding paste to all hardware and anywhere the mount or alternator touches the block ..

This is electrolysis , the mount is aluminum and he block is steel (what the hell were they thinking?)..that powder is an insulator..

It will ALSO dissolve the water pump impeller like a mild acid..so you might want to think about replacing that while you are in there too..(less stuff to pull down again..)

BE sure all your grounds are tight...

Corvette uses ground on many systems to control a function unlike the rest of the world,Which uses power.. (the starter is NOT one of them..) case in point..the wipers are wired directly hot, straight to the motor and the ground is switched to control speed / washer function control..so on those type circuits, you kinda have to think back-wards from everything you have been taught..

The second Issue with Corvette, Is the ignition switch harness and switch itself, If you have a tilt wheel, the harness running through the column will chafe, or the lower plug will pull loose or corrode..examine those and Clean any corrosion (Big problem on Corvette electrical)

The Switch is a 2 part item, has a "snap in " electrical contact bar..check to see it hasn't slightly pulled away from the tumbler assembly..and clean the contact area.

One of those should be a cure for the problem.

The NS switch should be located in on the linkage near the center console..underneath..Depending whether or not the car is manual or automatic, In MT , you also have a clutch over ride involved.. so both need to be checked.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.